Experts warn N. Sumatra lies on shaky ground

Experts warn N. Sumatra lies on shaky ground

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

Located in a geologically active area, North Sumatra is at risk
of major earthquakes, according to several experts.

The experts were speaking at a national seminar in Medan on
earthquakes and tsunami, in the context of building construction,
regulations and public attitudes. The seminar was hosted by the
North Sumatra regional council and the Medan Meteorology and
Geophysics Agency (BMG).

Dradjat Hoedajanto, a specialist at the Bandung Institute of
Technology, said the threat of earthquakes in North Sumatra was
real. He said there was the potential for a major quake measuring
up to 7.6 on the Richter scale to hit the area. He said residents
could expect such a major earthquake within the next 10 years to
20 years.

Earlier quakes in Aceh and Nias resulted from the subduction
of the Sumatra Trench, which Dradjat said would not affect North
Sumatra.

"North Sumatra is not at risk from the quake threat posed by
the Sumatra Trench, but attention should be given to yet another
source of danger, the Sumatra Fault, which has the potential to
produce quakes measuring over 7.6 in magnitude" Dradjat told
hundreds of seminar participants.

Omer Aydan, a scientist with the Department of Marine Civil
Engineering at Tokai University in Japan, said he was convinced a
major earthquake would strike North Sumatra following the Aceh
and Nias quakes, but not in the short term.

According to BMG data, there are at least 16 potential
epicenters for major quakes in North Sumatra, eight of which in
the waters near Nias. An earthquake measuring 8.7 on the Richter
scale rocked Nias on March 28, claiming hundreds of lives.

Dradjat said now was the time for the government and the
people of North Sumatra to begin preparing for possible
earthquake disasters. He suggested the government pay particular
attention to putting into place the facilities and infrastructure
necessary to respond to any natural disaster.

In the view of Dradjat, who is also chairman of the
Professional Certification Program at the Indonesian Construction
Engineers Association, such preparations are vital, as proven by
the experience of Aceh and Nias, where countless buildings were
topped by the quakes, leading to heavy death tolls.

His field survey found that most of the buildings topped in
the quakes were constructed using substandard materials. Dradjat
warned construction companies about cutting corners when it came
to building materials.

Masturiyono from the BMG told residents not to panic about the
quake threat, saying there were no instruments that could
determine exactly where and when an earthquake would hit.